Preview — Seed to Harvest
by Octavia E. Butler

Seed to Harvest

In her classic Patternist series, multiple Hugo and Nebula award winner Octavia E. Butler established themes of identity and transformation that echo throughout her distinguished career. Now collected for the first time in one volume, these four novels take readers on a wondrous odyssey from a myContains the novels Wild Seed, Mind of My Mind, Clay's Ark, and Patternmaster.

In her classic Patternist series, multiple Hugo and Nebula award winner Octavia E. Butler established themes of identity and transformation that echo throughout her distinguished career. Now collected for the first time in one volume, these four novels take readers on a wondrous odyssey from a mythic, prim/ordial past to a fantastic far future.In ancient Africa, a female demigod of nurture and fertility mates with a powerful, destructive male entity. Together they birth a race of madmen, visionaries, and psychics who cling to civilization's margins and back alleys for millenia, coming together in a telepathic Pattern just as Earth is consumed by a cosmic invasion. Now these new beings--no longer mearly human--will battle to rule the transfigured world....more

Community Reviews

A great artist can write subtle and original variations out of the slimmest themes. Butler wrote "Patternmaster" first and this almost modest book contained the Seeds that were Harvested so movingly by Butler in the books to follow. These books explain how the societies that inhabit the Earth of "Patternmaster" came to be. This is a wild journey and I believe the work as a whole ranks up there with (or is better than) the standards of science fiction, from Foundation to Dune.

Wild Seed has a mytA great artist can write subtle and original variations out of the slimmest themes. Butler wrote "Patternmaster" first and this almost modest book contained the Seeds that were Harvested so movingly by Butler in the books to follow. These books explain how the societies that inhabit the Earth of "Patternmaster" came to be. This is a wild journey and I believe the work as a whole ranks up there with (or is better than) the standards of science fiction, from Foundation to Dune.

Wild Seed has a mythical vibe to it. We start out in Africa during the early slave trafficking to America with a wise woman called Anyanwu. She has lived a long time and will live a long time to come. Her ancestor's villages have been destroyed and she is bereft of her kin - until a stranger comes to town...

They say there are only so many plots in literature, but as in anything "'Tain't whatcha say, hit's the way 'atcha say it." The main plots in this one are "A stranger comes to town", "Boy meets girl", "Girl leaves boy" and so on. The main plot however is what horrible thing happen when we misunderstand our own selves, even if we are like gods.

This is subtle science fiction at the start while Butler gets you used to her way of telling a story and her characters. Later on, we get the full science fiction, but there is always a "rational" explanation (I guess that is why it is "science" fiction). In any case, this is SF the way I most prefer it - wrapped into the story rather than sticking out like an interplanetary rocket.

Doro and Anyanwu are wonderfully drawn characters and their bond through the years forms the basis for this incredibly enriching novel. I can't wait to read the next three!

Mind of My Mind takes place in modern day Los Angeles. No date is given but it is pretty obvious since there are no anachronisms or things displaying futuritis. Doro and Anyanmu still preside over their broods which have taken over whole neighborhoods. The breeding program of Dora's has accelerated the quality of telepaths and how to guide them through their "transitions" to their full powers.

The main event of the novel is a depiction of what happens when you can think of killing your Gods or Masters. Butler elides the difference between the two and depicts slavery as both being submissive to either one thought of as a god or one who has ultimate power over you without godlike powers. In both cases you are powerless. Butler also plays around a bit with what is "free will" in a society of telepaths and mind-controllers. Mutes (non-telepaths) are treated as blacks were in the slavery days by the telepaths - and what is scary is how it came naturally.

Clay's Ark is the odd man out after reading the first two books. It is set in the near future after WWIII and a Mad Max-lite (Grumpy Max then? Disgruntled Max? Hey-Look-I've-Got-a-Hangnail Max?) dystopia is upon the world. It's not full blown anarchy in that there are "enclaves" of normalcy where people can pretend that the world ain't going to shit. Kinda like Orange County without the cougars.

But then a stranger comes to town. Or several billion microbe strangers that symbiotically change their host if they don't kill them first. I won't get into the details, but Butler writes a great twist on the whole Aliens-Andromeda Strain-The Stand-Guess Who's Coming to Dinner? genre. As in the previous two books there is a undercurrent of slavery where the slave accepts being the slave, which makes slavery even more pernicious. And also of what is family - there are three quite different concepts of family in the book, the "normal" nuclear family, the tribal outlaw clan family, and the "hive" family.

The novel ends with a cliffhanger that is an obvious To Be Continued wherein one hopes that the mutants in the first two books of the series come back to destroy the Alien Horde! (I can't believe I wrote that last line...)

Patternmaster was the first book of the series to be written (and perhaps Butler's first published novel?). It's scope is small when compared to the amazing trio of novels that lead to this one. Set several hundred years in the future, the telepathic tribal Patternists enslave regular humans (mutes) while they protect their tribes from the Clayarks, the alien/human mutants who came to Earth in the third book. The book is about the struggle of a young Patternist to establish his independence and strength while negotiating the cruel Darwinian environment the Patternists have set up.

Occasionally while reading a book I get splendid moments of serendipity. While the hero of the book, Teray, first experiences the full strength of the Pattern, he describes it in an astronomical and poetic way as a galaxy of bright points connected in a scintillating, pulsing web. Butler really shone in writing this. But while I was reading it, I was also listening to Vivaldi's motet "Clarae Stellae, Scintillate", or "Bright Stars, Scintillate". I got a nice frisson out of that!...more

Overall impression:I think my biggest gripe with this series is the cohesion. Even though all four are arranged in chronological order, the actual publication order is: Patternmaster (1976), Mind Of My Mind (1977), Wild Seed (1980), Clay's Ark (1984) and this discrepancy shows. It shows in the writing, ideas and concepts. Wild Seed (Book 1) and Mind of My Mind (Book 2) are the most connected because of Doro and Anyanwu. Clay's Ark (Book 3) just seems like an afterthought and more to give conteOverall impression:I think my biggest gripe with this series is the cohesion. Even though all four are arranged in chronological order, the actual publication order is: Patternmaster (1976), Mind Of My Mind (1977), Wild Seed (1980), Clay's Ark (1984) and this discrepancy shows. It shows in the writing, ideas and concepts. Wild Seed (Book 1) and Mind of My Mind (Book 2) are the most connected because of Doro and Anyanwu. Clay's Ark (Book 3) just seems like an afterthought and more to give context as to who/what Clayarks are in preparation for Patternmaster (Book 4) which is a good book in its own right but Butler's writing here is really green which isn't necessarily a bad thing. If I had read Patternmaster independently I may have given it 4 stars but having had the other three to compare it to, it felt more like a 3/3.5.

Overall though, I really enjoyed this series and I'm happy I started with it, albeit inadvertently with Wild Seed back in November 2011, so I can now follow the progression of Butler's career. I can't wait to read her other works *rubs hands in glee*

Wild Seed - 4 starsRead from November 07 to 16, 2011I honestly didn't expect to like this book much but surprisingly I did. Once I got over the shape-shifting, gender changes, breeding/constant reproduction, et. al., I discovered it to be a much more complex book that dealt with familiar themes of race, gender, loneliness, healing, nurturing, power, manipulation, immortality...you get the drift. It was also fascinating to follow the journey Anywanwu & Doro had to travel to get to the point they did. This was my first Octavia Butler novel and I'm definitely glad I took the plunge.

Mind of My Mind - 4 starsRead from December 13 to 15, 2011This was a continuation of Wild Seed and it takes place a few centuries or so after Doro and Anyanwu have reached a happy co-existence after the power struggle that took place at the end of Wild Seed. Doro is still obsessed with creating his dominant race while Anyanwu is more concerned with creating happy and peaceful communities that are within her purview. In the midst of all of this breeding, a Doro-like clone called Mary comes of age and becomes very powerful - so powerful that Doro starts to consider her a threat. She becomes the epitome of all Doro has been striving to create ever since he started this project. Ordinarily, Doro should be ecstatic. His plan has finally come together no? But there's a huge problem because Mary is as power-hungry as he is and has to constantly add people to the Pattern. So who will win in the end? I guess you'll have to read and find out.

Clay's Ark - 2 starsRead from August 19 to 24, 2012This was a strange one. It was clearly taking place in an alternate universe and felt very disconnected from the previous two. The shift in the storyline was a bit odd for me. I found myself not caring about the characters and I read it with a sort of detachment.

Patternmaster - 3 starsRead from September 11 to 13, 2012This is the fourth book in the Patternist/Patternmaster series and while short it is still somewhat enjoyable.

This centers around the power play between Teray and Coransee. Both are descendants of the Patternmaster (Rayal) and while Coransee is plotting to take it over, Teray is mainly concerned with surviving and living a life that is free of bondage.

It was easy to side with Teray because Coransee was such an SOB. This is not to say Teray didn't have any arrogance flowing through his veins but he was just more likeable. I attribute this to the fact that he was focused on survival and not being Coransee's slave as opposed to challenging for the Pattern.

Amber turned out to be a surprise. (view spoiler)[I still viewed her with suspicion after she and Teray escaped and I certainly didn't expect her and Teray to become a couple but I wasn't mad it happened (hide spoiler)]. I also liked the way she was portrayed.

All in all, I'm pretty satisfied with the way the book ends the series. ...more

I just reread this compilation of 4 of the novels of her Patternist series, as well as the other one, Lilith's Brood, which is a compilation of her 3 novels of the Xenogenesis series. She's one of my favorite writers ever. I had to go just now and bump her up on my list. The themes she gets at are so important.

With the whole relationship between Doro and Anyanwu, I sort of saw my mother and father's connection to each other again. Doro just operates by force to get his needs met and make what heI just reread this compilation of 4 of the novels of her Patternist series, as well as the other one, Lilith's Brood, which is a compilation of her 3 novels of the Xenogenesis series. She's one of my favorite writers ever. I had to go just now and bump her up on my list. The themes she gets at are so important.

With the whole relationship between Doro and Anyanwu, I sort of saw my mother and father's connection to each other again. Doro just operates by force to get his needs met and make what he wants happen. Anyanwu builds families, communities around her that are based on give and take, on her caring for her people. Doro loves his people, too, but he can't seem to see their needs as mattering compared to his needs or wants. He has the power to enforce his wishes, and he just does that. Anwanyu tries and tries to explain to him what he's doing wrong, but he can't hear her. Only after centuries when she is about to self-destruct, to leave him in the only way she can, does he realize she really matters enough to him for him to change a small amount, for him to make a few concessions. Butler seems to understand deeply the interaction of power and coercion with love and need in people's connections.

It brings to mind for me the civil rights movement, when one activist said they thought they would be able to shame white people into doing what's right, then later he realized they had to win their rights. It was a contest and white people weren't going to willingly give up their advantages. It makes me hear again my mother saying to my dad, "you can bully people into doing a lot of things, but you can't bully people into loving you."

Butler sees humanity very clearly with all their fear, their irrational anger and hate, and their unwillingness to accept new ideas. But she sees them in a loving way, too. She loves her characters, I think, even the ones like Doro who persist in doing evil stuff. And what I like about her most is how she can take a story that has an ending nobody would call happy, and somehow make a new way of life out of it. Her characters survive. They adapt. They accept a new normal, even if it's a form of slavery or some other lack of freedom and self determination. They change almost beyond recognition if they have to, and they manage to live and find good in living. She's an amazing writer.

As usual, these are my thoughts, minus a summary/retelling. I'm sure there are many of those from other readers (or, you can go to the handy-dandy Wikipedia). First, ratings, then thoughts (with spoilers).

Excellent. Outstanding. Lots of positive words here. This novel was pAs usual, these are my thoughts, minus a summary/retelling. I'm sure there are many of those from other readers (or, you can go to the handy-dandy Wikipedia). First, ratings, then thoughts (with spoilers).

Excellent. Outstanding. Lots of positive words here. This novel was published FOURTH (whoa!) in this series. Totally didnt know that until just now. This is the greatest prequel ever. In the entire history of prequels. For real. I mean that. Greatest. Ever.

Mind of My Mind

This isnt the worst novel ever, but I sure as hell didnt like it.

Of course, the writing is fine; the story, however...sucks. Here's why. (Keep in mind that up until TWO SECONDS AGO, [thanks, Wikipedia!] I thought these books were in published, not just chronological, order. This novel was published second, but it followed Patternmaster, not Wild Seed, may its name be praised.)

This sequel should have never seen the light of day. In Wild Seed, may its name be praised, Ms. Butler created (and in some cases, recreated) a world where issues of power, control, class, consent, race, gender, sex, etc., are fluid and complex, and where even the most despicable character (Doro) is wildly sympathetic and knowable. Like most great "villains," Doro has characteristics that though contemptible, are (oddly) likable and frighteningly easy for a reader to excuse and explain.

In much the same way, Anyanwu is a character complexly written, shades of gray, black and white prominently on display.

This brings me to Mary, the main character in Mind of My Mind.

Try as I might, I couldnt see ANYTHING sympathetic about her. For me, despite her wanting to "help her people," she was a straight villain and those are never fun. Where's the complexity? The flexibility? The...awesome inspiration for the reader to "love to hate"?

I get it. Doro was the real evil dude (on which I call bullshit) and Mary was...what? Boring. Power hungry and boring. And not even passionately power hungry. Just dull. And lazy as hell.

And was that guy...the forgettable one Doro made her marry...was he supposed to be her counterpoint? I dont even remember his damn name.

This novel sucked.

And Doro got a raw deal.

I know, I know. Doro was arrogant as hell. One of the many things I loved to hate about that disgustingly loveable character. Just sayin'.

Clay's Ark

The writing is fine, but so far, the story is boring the crap out of me. I dont care about ANY of these people. AT. ALL.

How can an author write one book and make me love EVERYONE, then write a different book in that same series that makes me give less than a damn? I dont know.

Update 5/5/14: I felt supremely guilty, so I finished the entire book. Clay's Ark was...interesting, I guess. I didnt give a hoot about any of the characters, except for maybe the astronaut guy, whose name I dont remember, so maybe I dont actually give a damn about anyone after all. This book exists solely to explain why the Clayark people in Patternmaster run around on all fours, looking like Sphinxes. The characters are one dimensional. This story is an unnecessary part of the saga.

Patternmaster

I wasnt going to read this book, but now that I know it was published FIRST, I sorta have to. Boo.

Update: I read the Patternmaster wiki. Nope. Nope. And more nope.

Update 5/5/14: I finished the whole book. I liked it, but I can tell it's Ms. Butler's first work. It seems more short story than a novel. Never would I have believed she could create the blessed (pronounced bless-said) Wild Seed, may its name be praised, from these humble beginnings.

In summary -- Wild Seed is awesome. The others blow. The same way Ms. Butler disowned Survivor, she should disown most of this series. In fact, all of this series except Wild Seed, may its name be praised.(hide spoiler)]...more

I made the mistake of reading the Patternist books for the first time in this "Seed to Harvest" collection where the books (with the exception of "Survivor") were collected in chronological order rather than publication order, which has coloured my experience more negatively. I reiterate what others have said: "Patternmaster" was the first book she wrote of the series, and it shows. I wish I had read it in publication order, beginning with "Patternmaster" and then moving on to the others. ReadinI made the mistake of reading the Patternist books for the first time in this "Seed to Harvest" collection where the books (with the exception of "Survivor") were collected in chronological order rather than publication order, which has coloured my experience more negatively. I reiterate what others have said: "Patternmaster" was the first book she wrote of the series, and it shows. I wish I had read it in publication order, beginning with "Patternmaster" and then moving on to the others. Reading "Patternmaster" last is a weak, and extremely anticlimactic, way to end the Patternist series. In this order, it seems that the three prequels built up to almost nothing and that just when everything the series seemed to be developing should have reached its peak, it fell short. I turned the last page and thought, "That's it? That's literally it? That's how everything wraps up?" Definitely a HUGE disappointment for me.

That being said, my low rating on this is not for Octavia Butler's writing but for how this specific collection was organized, for the reasons stated above. The individual books, I would rate from 4-5 stars. I really appreciated the way she incorporated conversations and observations on race, gender, sexuality, freedom VS slavery, etcetera and how her language was simple but drew me in. In my opinion, if you were to read this in publication order rather than chronological order, the entire series would be so much more enthralling because then the background and history leading up to the present would be slowly revealed, and THOSE are where the magic lies in this series.

"Wild Seed" without a doubt was my favourite and the best in the series, and I almost even think that it would be better as a stand-alone novel, or maybe with just "Mind of My Mind" as a companion book (and the latter only because of the powerful ending; the rest of the book felt flat). "Clay's Ark" was a brutal, amazing read that I would say was my second favourite of the series, but it had no relation at all to the aforementioned two books. Its relevance to "Patternmaster" was only to set up an insignificant enemy as a secondary obstacle to the characters and to create a dichotomy with the Patternists that COULD have been intriguing had it been explored in more depth. On its own, "Clay's Ark" shines, and it would also work in the publication order since the complex humanity of the Clayarks would be revealed only after seeing them in "Patternmaster" as monsters. Part of what I love about Octavia Butler's work is the moral greyness surrounding her characters, how no one is entirely good or bad or clear-cut. Reading "Clay's Ark" and THEN "Patternmaster" felt like a total regression where the Clayarks lost all complexity and became blank-faced enemies. Octavia Butler did occasionally try to touch on deeper subjects by having Teray muse about killing the Clayarks, but that was only a couple pages here and there, and I feel like it would have been more powerful and thought-provoking had she delved deeper into those themes... but, that's just my personal opinion and desire for something I felt was lacking. Perhaps another person would find it to be enough.

Ultimately, I felt that this collection failed to bring together the Patternist series in a way that's fulfilling to the reader....more

Patternmaster- 4 stars The last book in the Seed to Harvest series is a whopper of a book. It takes places hundreds of years after Clay's Ark where the world is split into two dominant factions and one minor: Patternist, Clayarks, and mutes (people not connected with the pattern and are not infected with the ClayArks disease). The war between the Patternist and the Clayarks has infected the leader of the Pattern, Rayal and the story is the struggle for power between two of his sons, Teray and CoPatternmaster- 4 stars The last book in the Seed to Harvest series is a whopper of a book. It takes places hundreds of years after Clay's Ark where the world is split into two dominant factions and one minor: Patternist, Clayarks, and mutes (people not connected with the pattern and are not infected with the ClayArks disease). The war between the Patternist and the Clayarks has infected the leader of the Pattern, Rayal and the story is the struggle for power between two of his sons, Teray and Coransee. At first, I wasn't sure what I was getting into when it came to this installment, because of the way I felt after reading Clay's Ark but when looking back over the entire story arc of all the books and the progression of the story, it's brilliant! There was a moment when I wasn't sure of the connection to the previous books, but she throws us a bone about halfway through the book to give us a quick backstory to show us the connection and how this world came to be. And I just couldn't read this book and love it more as an ending to a great series. Seed to Harvest as a whole gets ⭐⭐⭐⭐ from me. Octavia E. Butler is a genius and I love her works. It's sad that we won't get any more from her. ...more

I loved Mind of my Mind and Wild Seed, was only ok with Patternmaster, and don't know what to think about Clays Ark, since it was strong overal before the ending ended up being a mess.

In general, this is a series worth reading. All the books are so different from each other but still manage to build on each other in some way. If you want to experience a whole new dimension of worldbuilding, creating and showing a history of a fascinating society, read this series. If you don't like of of the booI loved Mind of my Mind and Wild Seed, was only ok with Patternmaster, and don't know what to think about Clays Ark, since it was strong overal before the ending ended up being a mess.

In general, this is a series worth reading. All the books are so different from each other but still manage to build on each other in some way. If you want to experience a whole new dimension of worldbuilding, creating and showing a history of a fascinating society, read this series. If you don't like of of the books, you might still enjoy some of the others, since the characters, setting and periods are totally different each time and I would even put them in different (sub)genres.

Since no one would read an in-depth review of 4 books here, I will leave a link to my blog, where I will discuss them over the next days, if you really care check that out.https://steemit.com/books/@dedmops/th...

To everyone else: Just get this book, it's mostlly the price of one quality paperback, so you got your moneys worth if you only liked one already. It is more wholesome than other series are able to and it will definetly be interesting at least....more

I liked these. It was recommended to me to read them in the order they were written, and didn't do that and regretted it. After reading them I would have preferred to have read them as she wrote them: Pattern-master, Mind of my Mind, Wild Seed, Clay's Ark. Wild Seed definitely superior to the others stories. There is an eerie creepiness to the stories that I like. I found the series disturbing and brutal. Themes of identity and transformation propel the stories from run of the mill science fictiI liked these. It was recommended to me to read them in the order they were written, and didn't do that and regretted it. After reading them I would have preferred to have read them as she wrote them: Pattern-master, Mind of my Mind, Wild Seed, Clay's Ark. Wild Seed definitely superior to the others stories. There is an eerie creepiness to the stories that I like. I found the series disturbing and brutal. Themes of identity and transformation propel the stories from run of the mill science fiction into great literature. There is something about human experience here that haunts me, these books were the type of literature that my mind will continue to ponder for years. PS: I prefer the older book covers who clearly show black characters on the cover. The faded out softness of this cover really irritated me.

I think I should have read these in publication order rather than chronological order. As I was reading them, the two middle books struck me as existing just to set up the last book, and it turns out they were prequels. So if you haven't read these yet, consider publication order instead.

Patternmaster is the last in the series and the first written. Taken on its own, it's a typical postapocalyptic SF/fanstasy book where (as usual) everything has devolved into a feudal and mostly male-dominated sI think I should have read these in publication order rather than chronological order. As I was reading them, the two middle books struck me as existing just to set up the last book, and it turns out they were prequels. So if you haven't read these yet, consider publication order instead.

Patternmaster is the last in the series and the first written. Taken on its own, it's a typical postapocalyptic SF/fanstasy book where (as usual) everything has devolved into a feudal and mostly male-dominated system. Which I guess is Butler fitting into typical SF modes of the time. I don't know how much of the full arc Butler had in mind, so I don't know whether the concept of race being largely absent is just Butler not yet being really comfortable writing about race and still sticking to more traditional SF topics, or the Patternists having finally moved on from caring about such things. (view spoiler)[The Patternists were in essence an African creation, and here at the end the only "normal" humans left are those protected but completely enslaved by the Patternists. If Butler had the whole arc in mind from the beginning, that's some world-class irony right there. (hide spoiler)] This book can work as a standalone and I suppose was originally written as such.

I said above "male-dominated", because for the most part that's how it's portrayed. There are female Housemasters, and they're not presented as exceptional, but not as much is said about how those Houses run. So I don't know whether they're the opposite of the male Houses, in which the Housemaster has multiple wives, and controls apprentices and journeymen and outsiders and their WIVES, and there is reference made to "the outsiders and the women" as if the women don't even rank among the various feudal roles. Not lookin' good, Octavia. It's a let-down from the other books but makes more sense when one considers publication order, where she gets more confident writing feminist stories and not fitting as much into classic SF tropes.

Mind of My Mind is the next book written and the second chronologically. It and Clay's Ark, although not written one after the other, are the prequels that show the origins of the two warring factions in Patternmaster. And sure, reading Patternmaster first sets up a spoiler for the end of Mind of My Mind, but you already know that Mind of My Mind is book two of four, so it's not like you don't really know how it's going to turn out. No one in this book is a particularly sympathetic character. The amazing Anyanwu from Wild Seed is reduced to the insignificant Emma here, which pissed me off, and is one of the main reasons I wish I'd read these books in publication order. It can work as a standalone because, since it was written before Wild Seed, doesn't need Wild Seed to work, and, while Patternmaster shows a later evolution of the Pattern, it doesn't directly continue the Mind of My Mind storyline. It is a more feminist book than Patternmaster, and puts race right out there though it is ultimately shown not to matter in the big picture.

Clay's Ark explains where the Clayarks in Patternmaster come from. Zombie Apocalypse meets Mad Max. Could work as a standalone. Some mention made of race but not central to the story. Fairly egalitarian with regard to sex. (view spoiler)[In my opinion, bleaker as a standalone than as a prequel. Also, it reveals that both the Patternists and the Clayarks were each originated by a black man. Surely a deliberate move by Butler. And, ultimately, the Clayarks can still be laid at the feet of Doro, since it was one of Doro's people who created the starship that brought back the virus. (hide spoiler)]

Wild Seed is the first chronologically and next-to-last written (before Clay's Ark). As literature, it's the best of the bunch. Interesting and disturbing exploration of free will vs. physical slavery and mental slavery, and what it means to survive. Points made about race and sex and how little they can matter in certain contexts. By the time the book ended, I was not at all happy, but still felt like I'd read a Good Book. (view spoiler)[Anyanwu ends up still being part of Doro's plan, but to some degree on her terms. I feel like he won, and in the end all she inserted was healing ability, not so much humanity. What was the point? (hide spoiler)] I think it can work as a standalone if you're not super into resolution. I can't say I feel better after having read the rest.

There is another book, Survivor, which Butler didn't like and did not have reprinted. I haven't read it yet. It gives a little more info about the Clayarks but other than that, from what I understand, is tangential to the rest of series.

A recurring theme in these books (including, from what I've read about it, Survivor): a lot of (mostly off-screen) sex. Lots and lots of sex between lots of people, including incest (even if you don't count Doro because he's wearing different bodies). The series has two parallel paths of humans becoming non-human, and both transitions, one because of some kind of biological urge and one because of eugenics, involve lots of sex between lots of people, including incest. This intersects with the overall exploration of free will in the books--if something is making you want to have sex, are you raped? Only Clay's Ark really addresses rape as rape. In the other books it's all mind control, and often control over both parties, not just one controlling the other. And I'm not sure what position the books are taking on that, and I'm not at ease with it....more

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it,
click here.This book contains all four of the Patternist book, starting with Wild Seed. The series is fascinating in the way a bird is fascinated by the coiled snake in front of it. I could only read bits of it at a time because it was so intensely written.

The theme throughout is slavery, starting with a mad god (Doro) trying to create, through selective breeding, a race of telepaths. He treats "his people" well, but there is never doubt that he owns them, body and soul. Even the fertility goddess he seducThis book contains all four of the Patternist book, starting with Wild Seed. The series is fascinating in the way a bird is fascinated by the coiled snake in front of it. I could only read bits of it at a time because it was so intensely written.

The theme throughout is slavery, starting with a mad god (Doro) trying to create, through selective breeding, a race of telepaths. He treats "his people" well, but there is never doubt that he owns them, body and soul. Even the fertility goddess he seduces at the beginning becomes his slave, and she was only able to break his hold on her by threatening suicide. I wished she'd done it.

As often happens with gods, he is eventually killed by one of his own offspring in Mind of My Mind, but Mary begets something else more insidious--a pattern connecting all of Doro's descendants, where she can completely control them if she wishes. Neurotypical people are referred to as "mutes" and are used for child raising (telepaths do not make good parents) and are kept as slaves.

The third book departs from Doro's descendants and deals with slavery to a parasitic virus that came back with a space mission. While not intelligent as today's humans know intelligence, it forces its biological imperative to spread. Its victims try to stay contained, kidnapping people to add to their growing clan only when absolutely necessary. A doctor and his two daughters try for a mad escape and the worst happens.

In the final episode, the world building falls apart a bit. We know it's 200 years in the future since Clay's Ark and the Patternists control the mutes, but there's never any explanation of the deterioration of technology--cross-country trips are done on horseback, for example. A fabulous life is offered the protagonist of Patternmaster, which is the first of the series to actually be published, but he has to submit to mental controls of the only man who could rival him for control of the Pattern.

At times touching, romantic, horrifying, wistful and inspiring, the series is worth reading, but don't expect the utopia some authors will present of the future. This ain't it....more

Octavia Butler is easily my favorite author. Sadly, she does not get nearly as much recognition as she deserves. When I discovered her (thanks to great college professors) I found myself constantly asked, "Oh are you in Afr. Amer. Lit. (Women's Lit.)?"

Butler's stories are so much more than the color of the heroine's skin. This collection of the Patternist stories is easily my favorite because of the set up, follow through, and end of the series.

The story begins with the amazingly complex Doro anOctavia Butler is easily my favorite author. Sadly, she does not get nearly as much recognition as she deserves. When I discovered her (thanks to great college professors) I found myself constantly asked, "Oh are you in Afr. Amer. Lit. (Women's Lit.)?"

Butler's stories are so much more than the color of the heroine's skin. This collection of the Patternist stories is easily my favorite because of the set up, follow through, and end of the series.

The story begins with the amazingly complex Doro and Anyanwu. The riveting tale of their love/hate spiral, with diametrically opposite views on life, ownership, freedom and immortality is spell-bounding amongst the context of slavery in America.

Anyanwu has to be my favorite character, she is so magnificent and compassionate. Doro is an enigma of power, cruelty and pity.

However, the introduction of Mary and the creation of the Pattern is my favorite tale. Everything has been brought forward to this point, Butler's ideas come together perfectly - despite the staggered publishing dates of the stories - to blend a magnificent tale of rise and fall of power.

As many have commented, Clay's Ark is probably my least favorite story. It is dark, depressing, sickening. But the writing, as usual, is perfect. Blake's turmoil as the plague takes over him and he nearly rapes his daughter hits me in the gut every time I read this series. Rane's final moments, though foreshadowed by Blake, shock me everytime.

Finally, the tale of Teray in the Patternmaster shows a cyclically history. The Planet of the Apes-esque treatment of mutes and the sheer vivid imagery of the Patternist mental struggles make for a compelling read while discussing class, slavery, love and most importantly, privacy.

I recommend this series to everyone everywhere. It is the pinnacle of Octavia Butler's epic career....more

Spent the last two weeks or so with Butler's four-book Patternist series, collected together here. The series as a whole is uneven -- they are some of Butler's earliest works, and the last one in this series was written first. But as with any Butler, the ideas and their execution unfold carefully and with meticulous attention to familiar human power relations (with strong emphasis on racial, gender, and class inequality), while jumping into wildly inventive new terrains. Here we have the originSpent the last two weeks or so with Butler's four-book Patternist series, collected together here. The series as a whole is uneven -- they are some of Butler's earliest works, and the last one in this series was written first. But as with any Butler, the ideas and their execution unfold carefully and with meticulous attention to familiar human power relations (with strong emphasis on racial, gender, and class inequality), while jumping into wildly inventive new terrains. Here we have the origin stories of two different beyond-human races that are, by the last book, at war. One involves its subjects connected through a mental/emotional Pattern. The other emerges after contamination by an alien organism, and develops into cat-human hybrid creatures. Unfortunately the series is pretty hetero-centric. While this isn't my favorite of her worlds, it's astonishingly complex and thought-provoking. ...more

Really cool books - after the first two books it became harder to predict what would happen. Octavia’s imagination takes readers from the shores of Africa to the modern industrial city, San Francisco in modern day. Octavia did a really great job of connecting readers to the characters, to the point where I felt personally invested in the success of Anyanwu and her bloodline. The story follows Anyanwu, the black female protagonist who constantly battles the doing what she wants versus what she'sReally cool books - after the first two books it became harder to predict what would happen. Octavia’s imagination takes readers from the shores of Africa to the modern industrial city, San Francisco in modern day. Octavia did a really great job of connecting readers to the characters, to the point where I felt personally invested in the success of Anyanwu and her bloodline. The story follows Anyanwu, the black female protagonist who constantly battles the doing what she wants versus what she's being forced to do in order to preserve her lineage. As an immortal, she journeys through generations and finds love, happiness, and havoc. Every twist and turn really exposes how fantastic Octavia’s imagination is - she discussed immortality, superpowers, sacrifice, power, struggle and triumph. This was a true page turner....more

I miss Octavia Butler. There are so few writers out there with a voice that's anything like hers, and science fiction could definitely use some. This is a collection of four books from her Patternmaster series (presented in order of events rather than order of publication), which starts with an immortal trying to breed psychic humans so he can steal their bodies and follows the story all the way through to his descendants fighting an extraterrestrial virus that mutates their children. Pretty aweI miss Octavia Butler. There are so few writers out there with a voice that's anything like hers, and science fiction could definitely use some. This is a collection of four books from her Patternmaster series (presented in order of events rather than order of publication), which starts with an immortal trying to breed psychic humans so he can steal their bodies and follows the story all the way through to his descendants fighting an extraterrestrial virus that mutates their children. Pretty awesome...I enjoyed all of them (but I liked Patternmaster, the last book here but published first, the least). I love the spiritual tone of her books.

I've read almost everything she's written, and how sad that there won't be more once I finish the rest....more

Octavia Butler is brilliant, a national treasure. Her renderings of strange worlds and beings are masterfully believable, calmly assured - no overwriting or overdramatization, yet startlingly strange and wonderful. This series blew my mind. It's been some time since I read it, I think it's time to go back, so I won't mention any detail, but I remember deeply how she shifted my sense of what it is to be human, of relationships, of quests for knowledge, of good and evil, of possible futures and paOctavia Butler is brilliant, a national treasure. Her renderings of strange worlds and beings are masterfully believable, calmly assured - no overwriting or overdramatization, yet startlingly strange and wonderful. This series blew my mind. It's been some time since I read it, I think it's time to go back, so I won't mention any detail, but I remember deeply how she shifted my sense of what it is to be human, of relationships, of quests for knowledge, of good and evil, of possible futures and paths not taken...the best in speculative sf....more

Sadly this volume contains the least compelling Butler novel I've ever encountered, with only two of the four books actually feeling essential to the overall story. (And I bet I'm in disagreement with just about everyone on which book I liked least.)

I deliberated on the order of reading, and I even checked various people's opinions on whether I should read it chronologically (Wild Seed, Mind of My Mind, Clay's Ark, Patternmaster) or in order of publication (PM, MoMM, WS, CA). My opinion probablySadly this volume contains the least compelling Butler novel I've ever encountered, with only two of the four books actually feeling essential to the overall story. (And I bet I'm in disagreement with just about everyone on which book I liked least.)

I deliberated on the order of reading, and I even checked various people's opinions on whether I should read it chronologically (Wild Seed, Mind of My Mind, Clay's Ark, Patternmaster) or in order of publication (PM, MoMM, WS, CA). My opinion probably would have been drastically altered had I read it chronologically, but ultimately it made the most sense to me to read it in the order that Butler wrote it. Perhaps my resulting disappointment is more a criticism of the narrative choices Butler made in deciding how to expand her Patternist universe.

Because I began with Patternmaster, a captivating albeit too-brief story of power politics in a highly intriguing sci-fi dystopia, I was excited to learn more about the background of that world as I moved on with the series. Mind of My Mind was a welcome addition in this sense as it gave us the origins of the very first Patternmaster and her struggles against the godlike creator of their "race." Sure it was replete with the standard Butleristic duo of awkwardness (pace and dialogue), but it was engaging and a satisfying extension of her Patternist universe. It also delved more deeply into the enslavement of humanity in Butler's world, a topic she keeps coming back to (Xenogenesis, Fledgling, Bloodchild) and keeps appearing to endorse (an issue I discuss further in my Lilith's Brood review.)

Wild Seed, which many people claim as the best standalone novel of the series, was for me the single most boring Butler novel I've ever read (I've now read them all). Not only did it exist solely to develop a relationship that was utterly tangential to the first two novels, but it did so in a bloated, tedious way that had me skipping large paragraphs of Anyanwo fretting over her impossible situation. There was no climax and very little action, so it certainly is an extraordinary standalone novel in Butler's canon, but only in the sense that it is the only book of hers that isn't compulsively readable.

A far better narrative choice, IMHO, would have been to greatly condense WS, by half or so, and then add it to the sparse MoMM, either in chronological order as a "Part I", or mixed within Mary's narrative in a sort of "Godfather II" flashback style. Doing so probably would have transformed Mind of My Mind into Butler's best overall novel.

Clay's Ark, the "afterthought" of the series, is as inessential as WS though it at least has compelling action to recommend it -- thin characters and bottomless misanthropy notwithstanding. But if you think about it for more than a few seconds it's actually worse than inessential since it actively highlights a narrative absurdity of the entire series, namely: we are witnessing a world that has not only been colonized by a supernatural breeding program but also by an extraterrestrial invasion of microbes. This coincidence is -- to put it gently -- utterly ludicrous, and if the clayark background had been revealed in the very first novel it would have been a dealbreaker.

It really just feels like poor plotting, and there's ultimately no reason that the clayark creatures from Patternmaster couldn't have been replaced by zombified, "infected" hominids -- they would have fulfilled the same purpose without severely undermining the world's credibility. As written, the book feels like a desperate attempt to connect MoMM with PM. A better use of Butler's time would have been to simply work on a sequel to the original Patternmaster; surely that world was rich enough to mine for another engaging narrative.

As I said above, it's quite likely that I would have enjoyed parts of this series more had I read it in (Butler's chosen) chronological order. WS certainly would have been more interesting and CA would have felt more integrated. I suspect I still would have been left wanting more from the PM world, which is where I am now anyway. So it's probably a wash in the end.

As an aside, it's fascinating to see the type of vulgar content Butler was getting away with in the 70s and 80s. I had seen the pearl-clutching over the "statutory rape" from Fledgling, but some of the stuff in this series is just as bad, especially in Seed and Clay's. The latter was somewhat disturbing even to my typically callous sensibilities. I can imagine the outcry if a middle-aged white man had written the same things. Can a young, black female author be lecherous too? 'Cause this would certainly qualify in a vacuum.

Anyway, thus concludes my great Octavia Butler odyssey. . . my Octavyssey. I've now read every one of her novels and her most famous short story collection. They're all (except Wild Seed) absolutely captivating works of a flawed visionary. Because my society values ranking things I will bow to peer pressure and place them in order of enjoyment:

Usually, books that make me uncomfortable end up making me hate them. Butler's books manage to always end up making me like them and sometimes love them. I liked this one very much, although it has more rape and incest than A Song of Ice and Fire.

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it,
click here.This is a story I hadn't read before. It's an original blend of history and science fiction. The chronological order (for the events in the story) makes more sense than the order in which they were written/copyrighted--I can't imagine having this whole world of stories inside me and having to get them out in whatever order they would come.

The first two are the strongest and most original. I think that she does an amazing job of showing the ways in which many kinds of power work. I take this to bThis is a story I hadn't read before. It's an original blend of history and science fiction. The chronological order (for the events in the story) makes more sense than the order in which they were written/copyrighted--I can't imagine having this whole world of stories inside me and having to get them out in whatever order they would come.

The first two are the strongest and most original. I think that she does an amazing job of showing the ways in which many kinds of power work. I take this to be the strongest answer to a question that students sometimes ask me and that scholars have also wrestled with: how can people "let" themselves be enslaved? Why didn't the slaves fight back more? How could they prefer an unfree half-life to death? These questions imply some pretty serious assumptions, but they are still real questions for people trying to understand the nature of power, survival, morality, and many other life-and-death ideas.

She points out how people manipulate other people for a variety of reasons, from the merely selfish to the perceived nobility of the greater good (and how that greater good is even defined). There can be violence, the threat of violence, intimidation, appeals to emotion and logic, give and take, bribery, all kinds of actions. And people choose to exercise power to protect themselves, to help others, to hurt their enemies, to be seen in a particular way, to act in the name of History, all kinds of reasons. And people submit when they know they're weaker, when they have no other choice, when they're talked into it, when they are trying to protect someone else, when they are tired, all kinds of reasons. The interactions in the stories are layered and diverse. I think the "problems" supposedly inherent/stereotyped in the black community--broken families, poverty, lawlessness--become open for discussion in new ways as we talk about human evolution, "race" breeding and mixing, and the circumscription by the larger uncaring "mute" population immune to the psychic pain that may have resulted from slavery (this time more mental than physical but real nonetheless). In other words, her blend of history, sociology, and sci-fi overturns traditional assumptions in interesting ways, something that a straight-up nonfiction version might not be able to say or speculate upon.

SPOILERS probably below.

The chess-match relationship between Doro and Anyanwu is by far the most interesting because it plays out over the longest time frame. The idea of longevity, or possible immortality, certainly would alter how you dealt with someone whom you perceived as an equal or near equal or partner or nemesis. And over that long of a time frame, the other person might occupy all of those roles. Their relationship was like a dance--sometimes they were in sync, others opposed, sometimes one was resigned, sometimes the other. It felt very real and believable. I thought Anyanwu/Emma's death was unfair and inappropriate to the strong character that she had been at the beginning. It was unworthy of her, although perfectly in keeping with narrator Mary's brand-new power and disregard for the past. Too bad. I like to think she survives still as an animal, but that she left Doro and Mary's Pattern far behind.

The last two stories seemed to diverge from the interesting plot set up in the first two--introducing the Clay's Ark disease took it in an unexpected direction, but I don't mean that necessarily in a good way. I was less interested, maybe some others might be more. The stories continue to deal with power, strength, weakness, and the interactions between people, but the setting was much less interesting to me. She did have an amazingly prescient sentence about the future (this, written in 1984 about the early twenty-first century to come): "They had clearly feared turn-of-the-century irrationality--religious overzealousness on one side, destructive hedonism on the other, with both heated by ideological intolerance and corporate greed." (583) The idea of irrationality of various types (which could include all manner of prejudice and fear, not just formal religion), coupled the (I choose to believe) unintentional consequences of hardened views on all sides and the intentional manipulation of people for profit, seems to me an apt description of where we find ourselves.

Based on the description of the back of the book, I had expected "madmen, visionaries, and psychics." What I got was mainly mindreaders and "sensitive" folk, people who went crazy because they couldn't handle those powers, and very few visionaries beyond Doro. And I had kind of hoped this new "race" would save the world--but it's more like coexistence between Clayarks and Patternists. I had hoped for some solution and a big final battle, but it was not to be. And that's probably more in keeping with the overall theme of the book--the struggle for survival and success is ongoing, enemies are always out there in changing forms, and people do what they have to to promote their way of life....more

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it,
click here.I’m trying to minimize spoilers here but there is some general description of the arc of the series and the premise of the final novel in the series. This book collects 4 novels from a series Octavia Butler wrote at the beginning of her career. They are a kind of epic beginning in 1690 and stretching far into the future, while chronicling the emergence of two post-human species. She wrote the series more or less “backwards,” by which I mean that her first novel was Patternmaster, set in the farI’m trying to minimize spoilers here but there is some general description of the arc of the series and the premise of the final novel in the series. This book collects 4 novels from a series Octavia Butler wrote at the beginning of her career. They are a kind of epic beginning in 1690 and stretching far into the future, while chronicling the emergence of two post-human species. She wrote the series more or less “backwards,” by which I mean that her first novel was Patternmaster, set in the far future, her second was Mind of My Mind, which takes places in the late 20th century, then Wild Seed covers about 1690-1850. She wrote Clay’s Ark last, which takes place in 2021, but it concerns a different post-human group than the other books here, so that break from her reverse-chronology isn’t too confusing. Butler really seems to have learned much of what she knew about writing, and about what she wanted to write, in the course of writing this series, which makes them fascinating reading for a writer and Butler devoteé. But that also means the quality of the writing declines somewhat as one progresses in the series. Patternmaster, which concludes the series, was Butler’s first novel, and that shows. It’s a very competent sci-fi novel, focusing on a drama of succession in a far-future aristocracy of psychics besieged by another humanoid species with enhanced physical abilities. As always, Butler writes with a keen eye toward power’s operation through social dynamics and gender, and with full cognizance of human ruthlessness. But it is probably her most conventional novel in terms of both plot and language, and it’s an anticlimactic conclusion to the series. One gets the feeling that she wrote it and then really figured out what she wanted to write about when she realized the elaborate far future post-human world she had created interested her less than the question of how we got from here to there. The other three novels here feel much closer to our own lived reality, and deal in disturbing detail with the emergence of the post-human species that dominate the far-future world of Patternmaster. Wild Seed and Mind of My Mind are particularly well-written and satisfying, and show Butler approaching the peak of her powers. They make this collection well worth reading for readers already interested in Butler’s work, although I would actually recommend newcomers to her work start elsewhere. Most of the themes and situations she explores here are dealt with elsewhere in here work, in series or standalone novels that feel more accomplished as a whole. If you’re interested in seeing race, gender, and power written about exquisitely in a realist depiction of America, then Kindred is the place to start. If you’re interested in thinking about sex and sexuality, power, genetic editing, and the post-human, then the xenogenesis trilogy will give you what you want in a perfectly formed series (and with a more convincing explanation of the genetic process involved in the emergence of a post-human species—the breeding program described in Seed to Harvest sounds disturbingly eugenic to me, and relies too much on in-breeding within limited populations to be entirely convincing). But if you are specifically interested in psychics and shapechangers (understood as witches in context), or in Reading sci-fi set in slavery-era West Africa and colonial America, or in Octavia Butler’s early work, this is still a very worthwhile read in its own right....more

I ignored Butler too long. Yes I realized that when I finished Fledgling, but guys this was >700 pages of sci-fi epic running from the seventeenth century through the near future. I was riveted for every page. And I don't use "riveted" lightly.

I always judge a really satisfying book by the way that, when I am done reading it, I put it down on the table and let out a breath I didn't realize I'd been holding.

This edition is really four books, so it's hard to review collectively.

The first book, Wild Seed, is probably the best (and longest). It tells two intertwined stories: that of Doro, a spirit thousands of years old who inhabits the bodies of humans by using their bodies as a temporary vessel as he "feeds" upon them, and Anyanwe, aI always judge a really satisfying book by the way that, when I am done reading it, I put it down on the table and let out a breath I didn't realize I'd been holding.

This edition is really four books, so it's hard to review collectively.

The first book, Wild Seed, is probably the best (and longest). It tells two intertwined stories: that of Doro, a spirit thousands of years old who inhabits the bodies of humans by using their bodies as a temporary vessel as he "feeds" upon them, and Anyanwe, a shapeshifter who has lived for hundreds of years by using her supernatural abilities to heal and rebuild her own body. Doro selectively breeds humans in an attempt to create superior beings with psychic and telekinetic powers, and the book doesn't shy away from this by masking it in metaphor: Doro is a slave trader, and those he breeds and controls are all, to varying extents, his property. This alone makes the work nearly unique among SF works; the horror of the plot device is magnified by the very real American race relations of the setting. Anyanwu is forced to struggle between her desire to care for the children that Doro has fathered with her ("wearing" different bodies each time) and her need to escape his grasp. Five stars.

The second book, Mind of My Mind, is set in the present day. Doro's breeding has created a widely dispersed population of troubled psychics, many of whom succumb to mental illness or suicide because of the torment their powers cause. One of his children, at the maturation of her powers, finds that she can connect telepathically to all the others to form a network ("The Pattern") from which she can both draw power and control everyone else. Four stars.

The third book (Clay's Ark) is only tangentially related to the previous two. In it, a crashed spacecraft's escaped inhabitant spreads a virulent extraterrestrial plague to everyone he comes in contact with. The mechanism of the disease is almost certainly an intentional nod to the AIDS epidemic. Those who survive the initial infection develop mutant powers of enhanced speed and reflexes, but with a terribly desperate need to spread the infection to others. The small rural community he infects struggles to remain isolated enough to keep the rest of (post-apocalype, by the way) humanity safe while culling enough uninfected outsiders to satisfy their needs. Three stars.

The final book, Patternmaster, is my least favorite. Despite the chronology of the stories, this was Butler's first published work, and it's not that strong. It is set far in the future, where The Pattern has grown stronger and links everyone on earth that possesses psychic ability, leaving un-gifted individuals as the "mute" servant class for their psychic masters. Two stars....more

I think this is definitely my favorite series by Butler, although I really enjoyed the Xenogenesis series too. Similar to that series, I also think that the first book is the strongest although every single book in the series is a great read and develops a key aspect of the world she's envisioned in extremely interesting ways. I think Anyanwu is just one of the best female main characters ever written and I have to admit I did feel let down by how weakened she is at the point when she finally diI think this is definitely my favorite series by Butler, although I really enjoyed the Xenogenesis series too. Similar to that series, I also think that the first book is the strongest although every single book in the series is a great read and develops a key aspect of the world she's envisioned in extremely interesting ways. I think Anyanwu is just one of the best female main characters ever written and I have to admit I did feel let down by how weakened she is at the point when she finally dies in Mind of My Mind. Wild Seed in general is one of the best books I have ever read, fiction or non-fiction, at getting at some of the thornier core questions about the battle of the sexes and she thinks really deeply about whether true resistance to patriarchy is possible, what it might look like, and how complicated it might be considering the particularly tangled and cyclical relationship between men and women within a larger system of oppression. So much of what she brings out about that conflict resonated with me. With that said, some of the other books are also incredibly strong, although they weren't as enjoyable to read as Wild Seed for me. Mind of My Mind's conceptual take on telepathy was really cool and I especially liked the interconnected web of minds it describes which almost prefigures the internet in a way. Clay's Ark was an extremely harrowing read, but as a horror book I think you would be hard pressed to find a work more chilling in its description of disease and invasion. I like Patternmaster too, although it is definitely the weakest book of the series. It still makes a great fantasy/adventure novel that was fun to read even though it does less heavy lifting in terms of race or gender theory. ...more

Each of these four stories is very different, and though loosely connected, they don't necessarily flow seamlessly from one to the next.Perhaps this is because book four was actually written first, and the three prequels were extrapolated from that and written over the course of the subsequent years. My favorite story, "Clay's Ark," was written last though it is the third book. I enjoyed this one the most because it stands apart from the first two books (which are much more closely connected byEach of these four stories is very different, and though loosely connected, they don't necessarily flow seamlessly from one to the next.Perhaps this is because book four was actually written first, and the three prequels were extrapolated from that and written over the course of the subsequent years. My favorite story, "Clay's Ark," was written last though it is the third book. I enjoyed this one the most because it stands apart from the first two books (which are much more closely connected by characters and storyline) and I found myself wondering when it was going to tie back in the narrative.Reading "Patternmaster" last it was hard to believe it was written first... it really made "Clay's Ark" fit more neatly into the total package.That being said, book four was the story that interested me least... apart from the other books it's hard to imagine it standing on it's own. It is too ambitious at times pulling in too many sci-fi elements and lacking reference.The first two books comment on race, class, slavery, and freedom through the use of immortal characters who breed humans with special abilities...The third book takes on a parallel strategy this time requiring character's submission to an alien virus that will take over the earth, instead of human husbandry by an immortal being.

All things considered, Butler delivers as usual, and it's pleasing to see so much richness and dialog in her themes even in this early work. The seeds are planted and lead to a powerful harvest indeed....more

This is a 4-book compilation of Butler's Patternist series. I'm glad I read it. I picked it up because Butler was recommended as a strong female & PoC voice in the science fiction genre. I don't think there are enough women represented in the SciFi pantheon, and there certainly aren't enough PoC represented. Butler's books in this compilation affirmed her place among the best of them... even though the final book in the set (Patternmaster) was, frankly, terrible.

The first three books (WildThis is a 4-book compilation of Butler's Patternist series. I'm glad I read it. I picked it up because Butler was recommended as a strong female & PoC voice in the science fiction genre. I don't think there are enough women represented in the SciFi pantheon, and there certainly aren't enough PoC represented. Butler's books in this compilation affirmed her place among the best of them... even though the final book in the set (Patternmaster) was, frankly, terrible.

The first three books (Wild Seed, Mind of My Mind, and Clay's Ark) were outstanding. Eerie and atmospheric, totally unique, creepy, and engaging... all the things I love from SciFi. The final book in the set (Patternmaster) was, therefore, even more crushingly disappointing when compared to the first three novels. I found Patternmaster to be bad to the point of irritation - stilted dialogue, poorly developed plot & setting, remote and emotionless storytelling - it was as though she wrote it while watching TV. I rolled my eyes more than once while reading it.

Bottom line: worth a read, worth being exposed to this author and her work, I wish they'd left well enough alone after Clay's Ark.

Butler was also lauded for her book Kindred, which I'll certainly read. If it's as good as her better work in this anthology, it'll be a great book....more

seed to harvest collects octavia butler's patternist series (minus survivor, which she disowned according to wikipedia) into a single volume. i truly appreciate how ms. butler's stories are gathered and presented in this format. at a time when reality is continually painful, escaping into her storytelling became a refuge that allowed me to see the world we're in with clearer eyes and still asking more questions.

seed to harvest includes:* wild seed - originally published in 1980* mind of my mindseed to harvest collects octavia butler's patternist series (minus survivor, which she disowned according to wikipedia) into a single volume. i truly appreciate how ms. butler's stories are gathered and presented in this format. at a time when reality is continually painful, escaping into her storytelling became a refuge that allowed me to see the world we're in with clearer eyes and still asking more questions.

seed to harvest includes:* wild seed - originally published in 1980* mind of my mind - originally published in 1977* clay's ark - originally published in 1984 * patternmaster - originally published in 1976

ms. butler continually challenges the reader on ideas of race, gender, sex, sexuality, history, healing, strength, truth, how we impact tomorrow's generation, how we're impacted by yesterday's generation, war, love, slavery, freedom, power, parents, children, education, art, what's considered beautiful/ugly, what's seen as a mutation/normal, what we do for protection/survival, what's accepted, what's not accepted, how we see others, how we see ourselves, and the list goes on ... and she does this all the while in a fictional novel that's easy to digest & sucks you into the characters ... i am grateful i read the stories in this sequence and can't wait to read more of ms. butler's works....more

Octavia Estelle Butler was an American science fiction writer, one of the best-known among the few African-American women in the field. She won both Hugo and Nebula awards. In 1995, she became the first science fiction writer to receive the MacArthur Foundation "Genius" Grant.